Where Stars Shine
by Raelin Lark
Summary: When Adarlan ruthlessly destroys a Terrason city, Stella Gildwen is sent to Endovier. While she is in the mines Stella meets Celaena Sardothian whom she recognizes as her queen. When they try to escape, Stella is detained and badly injured. Will she live to make sure her queen lives to see another day, or will the demons in her past prove to be to much to bare.
1. Chapter 1

The Throne of Glass belongs to the amazing Sarah J. Maas.

Stella was confused.

Stella was had been playing with her mother, then all of a sudden Adarlan's soldiers had ripped Stella's mother from her and slit her throat. She had run from their house and hid in the forest,where she couldn't be found. The little fae girl stayed in that forest for three days and when she came out... she wished she had stayed in hiding. "Mother?!" Stella's eyes were met only with death. Horrible black decay that wrecked havoc on her tiny Terrason village.

Rough hands grabbed her from behind. "Help!" Stella screamed desperately. A sadistic sort of laughter cackled through the air."No help will be coming for you." Stella screamed again when those vile hands started to roam. She was saved only when she bit his thumb and he dropped her. "You little bitch! How dare you!" He pulled her long silver hair and kicked her before loading her into a cart heading god-knows-where and left her to rot with the other filthy captives.

The smell was horrible but what really made her tremble was their eyes. Their eyes were empty, dull pits, not a spark of life to be seen.

When Stella looked at them she was glad her mother was dead, if her mother was dead, that meant she was not among those broken prisoners. It would be a mercy to be dead.

The wagon bumped on the road jarring Stella from dangerous thoughts of death.

I am a Line-break

It was three days before they reached the mines of Endovier. Three days in hell. There was no food, little water, and absolutely no stopping. The captives stunk of waste and bile. As soon as the wagon stopped the smell was quickly dealt with. Buckets of water flooded over them from grimy buckets. Stella sputtered and hissed at the guards. They only laughed at her. Stella didn't even have time to catch her breath before she was shoved head first into the black girl hesitantly picked up the pick ax at her feet and touched the stone wall. "What are we mining for?" her voice was tiny and quiet, but the guard heard her. The brute smiled wickedly," You are mining for death." Her ax rang true against the craggy rocks.

One beautiful voice was heard in the resounding echo spewing foul curses. It was one that filled Stella with hope.

...….….

Eleven years later

A weary soul aged only seventeen years grunted as calloused hands gripped an ax with sound surety. Stella pushed her hair back and blinked dust out of pale violet eyes. She tried to remember to appear dull, just as broken as the rest. She hunched her shoulders and dragged her feet. "Get your lazy ass moving!" The overseer jeered at her. She showed no emotion, though she felt anger surge through her veins, and stared straight ahead. Her pointed fae ears strained, listening for any sign of that voice. She had found that a golden haired young woman only a couple years older than herself belonged to it. Stella was determined to find her. Some days it was the only thing that kept her going.

She dug her pick ax deeper into the rocks. A dim glow broke through the ruble. Stella bent over slowly to examine the shining thing. It was a rock. A silver rock with a blanket of magic attached to it. The stone was about the size of her palm and Stella quickly stuffed it inside her tattered shirt. A forbidden treasure just for her. Strength raced through her blood when it touched her skin and she smiled demurely to herself. Soon it would be time. The girl with Ashryver eyes felt it too. So Stella would watch and prepare along with her golden haired queen. That night Stella crept to the girl and shook her awake. A hand darted to Stella's throat. She kicked the young woman until she looked at Stella. She took in her pointed fae ears and long, lean form and let her go. "Who the hell are you." it was an order."My name is Stella Gildwen, I am from Terrason." She swallowed roughly, her eyes lined with silver."Adarlan destroyed my city and brought the survivors here...eleven years ago." The teenaged queen stared her mouth gaping,"Are there more of you?" Stella shook her silver head sadly," I am all that is left of them." Aelin Ashryver Galathenius was silent. It was the assassin, Celaena Sardothian, who spoke," Well let's go kill the bastards."

In near silence they planned and plotted. Scheming to finally, FINALLY, be free.

It was another month before their plans were complete. And three more days until they were ready to act on them. But soon they would be far away from their personal hell hole. It would be worth the wait.

Stella smiled while she worked that day. The clanging of axes striking the mines' walls matching her heartbeat. Stella waited for the signal.

"You! Why don't you come with me, you filthy slave!" The overseer spat at the dirt. Stella cautiously held her ax but followed the man.

As soon as they were outside the mine the man grabbed her roughly, making her drop her ax. She fought back, kicking at him. He smiled sadistically, " I like 'em feisty." Then they were on the ground, her arms pinned. The overseer forced his tongue in her mouth and she screamed and bit him. He pulled away and started to beat her. "Help me!" Stella cried and curled into a ball.

A large shadow was poised above her, ready to strike. She shrieked preparing for the worst. Then the man's shadow fell ,landing with a thud.

Her queen stood with a bloody ax in one hand and the man's head in the other. She dropped the head and put her hand on Stella's shoulder. "Aelin." It was barely a whisper. "I was scared." Aelin smiled reassuringly," You don't have to be scared anymore." Aelin helped Stella to her feet and handed her the ax she had dropped. "Let's do this thing." Stella's Cheshire grin was as wicked as they come.

Just then the guards found them and charged, swords drawn. Stella and her assassin queen started swinging.

Men fell like frail stalks of wheat and blood fell to the ground like rain. They plowed their way through the legion, passing awestruck slaves as they fought tooth and nail to escape, or if escape was impossible, die. Stella moved with the brutal grace of an immortal, striking with the speed of an adder. It was a beautiful, terrible feeling.

The lethal pair were three feet from the wall to the outside when an arrow was trained on each of their foreheads. In the moment of hesitation, several guards seized them. Manacles were squeezed on like vices before Stella had time to comprehend what had happened. Soon after something blunt struck Stella's temple and the world went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Stella awoke with groan. Her back was stiff from sleeping on the ground. Stella's mouth was sandpapery. And when she looked around… Stella was in a grungy holding cell. She smiled dryly. Those guards must not have taken kindly to the slaughter of so many of their own.

The grin slid off her face as a guard stalked over to her cell."Well, well, well. Look who finally woke up." He leaned against the door casually," How do you like your new living quarters, old timer?" Her stomach snarled,"Where's the food." He laughed sadistically," Food? There will be no food. You're lucky they haven't killed you yet." It took all of her self control not to rip out his throat right then and there. The foolish guard must have sensed danger and started to make his retreat, kicking the door and mumbling something that sounded like 'filthy savage'.

After the guard left she took stock of what she had in her cell; dirt floor, stone walls, and a wooden door. Nothing useful. Nothing to help her make an escape.

Stella's body was littered with bruises and the occasional cut. Nothing to be worried about ,except for the one across her ribs. It was roughly two hands long and felt fairly deep.

She must not of noticed it before in her adrenaline rush and the bloody haze of a fight. Stella touched the incision tenderly and hissed."Damn, that's a stinger." She tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of her oversized shirt and wrapped it tightly around the wound. All that was left to do was wait and hope infection didn't set in.

"Hey, um… are you okay." "What?" A young man in a guard's uniform was hovering outside her door. "You've been staring at that wall for fifteen minutes." He shrugged. I stared at him piercingly."Oh." then he turned away. But, something struck her as odd; there had almost been genuine concern in that guard's eyes. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Stella decided to put the incident out of her mind and focusing on obtaining some method of escape. She didn't doubt she would find a way.

Stella wasn't that terrified little girl that they had drug into this death pit. No, she was a young woman now. One that would fight tooth and nail to set her queen free. Even if she must die to do it.

Suddenly her thoughts zipped to the stone in her shirt. Stella brought it out. Her treasure gleamed as if to reassure her that she would make it out of this alive. A rainbow of colors shone within its crystalline crust. Lighting up her world in the darkest place she'd ever been. She smiled at in pleasure. The stone sang at her touch and it startled her so much that she stood up abruptly and stared at it. Stella moved toward the back wall and the stone sang louder encouraging her to get closer to the brick barrier. There ,where the stone sang the loudest, was a hole in the wall. Not a large hole by any means. But, large enough to see out of. Enough to keep her sane in this desolate cell.

The guard appeared again." I brought you some food." She smiled as a plan formed in her mind."Thank you ." Stella tried her best not to appear as if she were mocking him."I'm Stella." The guard seemed surprised at my pleasantness, as he should be. I had given him the wolf stare earlier."Sorry about before, it isn't exactly fun to wake up in a dirty, cold cell…" She fingered the hem of her shirt bashfully. The guard stared at her hands hungrily.

She had been right about his intentions. It was almost disappointing,really, human nature. The mortals only did what was beneficial for them.

But right now it was useful for her escape. Stella pushed aside her food and moved temptingly toward the door, all the while smiling at him shyly. "And what's your name?" His eyes glazed over when she planted her hands on her hips. "Darius." The newly identified Darius watched her move another inch before he gave in.

The lustful man's arms shot through the space in the bars and pulled her flush against him. " And you ,Stella, are mine." She caught a glimpse of elongated canines and gasped, This man was no man, he was of the Fae! Something tugged inside of her , like knot being tied in a rope.

This lowly prison guard was her mate. And Stella had to trick him to save everything she loved. Only one word could describe her situation at that moment.

Crap.

How could she just trick him? But then again, how could he let her fester here?

Darius was still looking at her with hunger in his eyes. Stella tried to push him away."I can't do this." He looked confused for a second before her plan dawned on him. "I can't believe you would do this! You're my mate!" Darius was angry. He shoved her back and she hissed clutching her wound which had started up its bleeding again. Part of Stella's shirt turned scarlet. "If you are my mate why would you allow me to be locked up here in this cage?!" The fae girl lowered her voice," Who are you loyal to Darius? That bastard king or your own people?" A shadow fell over us then and Darius pushed back his midnight black hair revealing pointed ears. "I thought I was alone. The last of a mighty people. When I was offered a job, I saved my own life by taking it." his voice was sad and weary. " Then you came here and the light shone around you. You are my mate chosen for me by the divine. I am loyal only to you." Stella's face lightened considerably in relief. She still had a chance with her mate. Maybe after she escaped, they could take the queen to Mistward. Maybe they could finally be sort of safe and get some well deserved rest.

Stella came close to the door and pulled Darius closer to her and kissed him softly. "I've met you before. When we were children." He looked surprised. "What?" She chuckled, "You visited my city with your father. We played together in the courtyard. My mother knew what you would be for me. She told me we would meet again when we were older."

Darius smiled. This was how they were supposed to be. Happy. Reveling in each other. But she was in a cell and he was keeping her prisoner. She frowned but shook it off. Darius told her it was time for the guard change. He kissed her quickly and left even quicker.

A persistent sting caught her attention once he was gone. When she brought her hand away it was covered in red. Stella sat down heavily against the cold stone wall. She had just managed to swallow the last of her meal when her eyes fluttered shut.

Dreams of Darius filled her head. Of finding true happiness with him one day. And then two hours later she woke up to the clanking of keys in a keyhole.

A guard shoved manacles on her ankle and wrists while she was dazed and marched her into a small conference room. Celaena Sardothien was there on her knees glaring at the ground. The crown prince of Adarlan standing in front of her. Stella grit her teeth as she was forced to kneel next to her queen. "Choal. I thought I asked you to clean them up." Stella frowned, how dare he?! Aelin shot her a warning glance. "A pair of assassins condemned to death. Rightfully so. You killed two hundred men in twenty minutes. But I will rescue you from this place if you would agree to be my champions."

Stella growled at the thought of being in debt to an Adarlanian, but much longer in Endovier with a possibly infected wound and she would be dead. Her queen spoke before she could."We agree." A richly dressed man standing to the left of the Prince smiled like,'I thought so'. It boiled Stella's fae blood.

"We leave at dawn."


End file.
